Fuel Container

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a container for receiving fuel from a fuel outlet of an aircraft, which container comprises means of attachment for effecting a detachable, liquid-tight coupling with the fuel outlet. The invention furthermore provides a method for receiving and discharging fuel from a fuel outlet of an aircraft, comprising the steps of coupling a container for receiving fuel to a fuel outlet of an aircraft, draining the fuel outlet, disconnecting the container from the fuel outlet, and transporting the fuel in the container to a storage location for discharged fuel.

The present invention relates to a container for receiving fuel from a fuel outlet of an aircraft.

It is a known fact that some aircraft, such as the F-16, eject fuel via a fuel outlet after the aircraft engine has been turned off. The fuel outlet is positioned at the bottom of the aircraft and opens into the environment. In order to prevent fuel from the fuel outlet falling on the ground and finding its way into the environment, ground crew place a receptacle on the ground under the fuel outlet of the aircraft before the engine of the aircraft is turned off. Following this, the ground crew signal to the pilot of the aircraft that he can turn off the engine of the aircraft. The fuel falls from the outlet into the receptacle, which is subsequently removed by the ground crew.

A drawback of this method is that there is a risk that not all the fuel will land in the receptacle and that fuel is thus spilled on the ground yet. It is difficult for the ground crew to determine the correct position for the receptacle, in particular in situations in which the wind gains a hold on the liquid falling into the receptacle. Furthermore, the wind may blow away drops of fuel, even if the main jet of the fuel does fall into the receptacle. In addition, the combustible fuel is exposed to the environment unprotected while falling and while present in the receptacle. Furthermore, there is a risk of the ground crew unintentionally being soiled by aircraft fuel. In practice this leads to the ground crew “forgetting” to place the receptacle under the aircraft, thus burdening the environment.

The object of the invention is to provide a container for the fuel from the fuel outlet, which container, possibly in preferred embodiments of the invention, overcomes the aforesaid drawbacks in whole or at least in part. This object is accomplished with the container according to the invention in that the container comprises means of attachment for effecting a detachable, liquid-tight coupling with the fuel outlet. By detachably coupling the container to the fuel outlet in a liquid-tight manner before the aircraft engine is turned off, the fuel flows directly from the fuel outlet into the container after the aircraft engine has been turned off. As a result, no fuel will find its way into the environment. In addition, the risks involved in exposing the environment to fuel and of personnel being soiled with fuel are thus eliminated.

The means of attachment preferably comprise a clamp coupling. A clamp coupling is easy to connect, providing a liquid-tight seal, and also easy to disconnect again after use.

It is advantageous if the container extends at least partially perpendicularly to the direction of outflow of the fuel from the fuel outlet of the aircraft in the coupled condition. In this way space is saved under the aircraft, so that it is possible to place the container even when bombs are suspended from the aircraft.

In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the container is provided with an overflow. Said overflow is preferably positioned so that it is located at the upper side of the container both in the coupled condition and in a vertically oriented condition. The overflow functions to release the pressure in the container that would increase during filling when a closed system is used, because the air that is present in the container can flow out freely. Another advantage of the presence of an overflow is the fact that, in the exceptional case that the container not sufficiently emptied between times, fuel can escape if the container threatens to be flooded. The positioning of the overflow ensures that fuel will only be injected into the environment through the overflow when a container is (almost) completely filled with fuel.

In another preferred embodiment, the container is provided with indicating means that are undetachably connected to the container. Said indicating means function to ensure that it will be clearly noticeable that such a container is connected to the aircraft. This is done in order to minimise the risk of the aircraft taking off while the container is still connected to the fuel outlet.

In one preferred embodiment, the container is mainly made of an antistatic material. Said material rules out the risk of the container being statically charged, which might lead to sparking. It will be apparent that sparking should be avoided in the presence of a combustible liquid.

Preferably, the container is substantially made of a plastic material. Plastic is easy and economical to process, and in addition it is possible to realise a weight-saving when plastic is used.

The present invention also relates to a method for receiving and discharging fuel from a fuel outlet of an aircraft, characterized by:

-   -   coupling a container according to the invention as described         above to a fuel outlet of an aircraft before the aircraft engine         is turned off;     -   draining the fuel outlet;     -   disconnecting the container from the fuel outlet; and     -   transporting the fuel in the container to a storage location for         discharged fuel.

By detachably coupling the container to the fuel outlet in a liquid-tight manner prior to turning off the aircraft engine, the fuel can directly flow from the fuel outlet into the container after the aircraft engine has been turned off. Once the fuel has flown into the container, the container can be disconnected from the fuel outlet in a simple manner, with the fuel remaining in the container and not being exposed to the environment. By transporting the fuel from the aircraft to a storage location for discharged fuel in the container, all the risks involved in transporting environmentally unfriendly and combustible fuel in an open receptacle are avoided during said transport as well. At the storage location, safety facilities may be present which ensure that the fuel is safely transferred from the container to a collecting reservoir. By using the present method, no fuel will find its way into the environment, and the risks involved in exposing fuel to the environment and of personnel being soiled with fuel are eliminated.

Preferably, the method further comprises the step of emptying the container each time it has been used. Mandatory emptying of the container each time it has been used prevents the container being filled with aircraft fuel to such an extent that the aircraft fuel will flow out of the container, for example via the overflow, and finding its way into the environment yet.

The invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, in which reference is made to the appended drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a cutaway view of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which is positioned under a fuel outlet of an aircraft.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a container 1 according to the present invention and an end of a fuel outlet 30 of an aircraft. The container 1 comprises a bottle-shaped reservoir 10 with a vent tube 14, which enables communication between the interior of the reservoir and the environment via the vent hole 15. Mounted on the reservoir 10 is a compound coupling piece 12 of antistatic polyethylene for coupling the reservoir 10 to the fuel outlet 30 of the aircraft. Through the coupling piece extends a flow channel 13 for the fuel from the fuel outlet 30 to the reservoir 10. The coupling piece 12 is furthermore provided at one end thereof with an annular inlet 19 for insertion into the fuel outlet 30 of the crafts. Present under the inlet 19 is a rubber ring 20, whose outer circumference is smaller than the outer circumference of the annular inlet 19 in the illustrated situation. Furthermore present on the coupling piece 12 are a union 22, which is rotatably mounted on the coupling piece 12, and a pressure ring 21 which can be moved towards and away from the inlet 19 by turning the union 22. Finally, a large ribbon (not shown) is undetachably connected to the container 1 via a ring 18. When the container 1 is inserted in the fuel outlet 30, said ribbon extends downwards to below the aircraft, thus providing an indirect but very distinctly noticeable indication that the container 1 is coupled to the aircraft. This minimises the risk of the aircraft taking off with a fuel container still coupled thereto without this being noticed.

The container 1 is connected to the fuel outlet 30 by inserting the inlet 19 into the fuel outlet 30. Following that, the union 22 is turned a quarter turn, as a result of which the pressure ring 21 moves in the direction of the end of 19 of the container. This movement of the pressure ring 21 causes the rubber ring 20 to slide over the inclined part of the inlet 19, as a result of which the diameter of the rubber ring 20 increases and the rubber ring 20 clamps down on the inner side of the fuel outlet 30 of the aircraft. In this way a liquid-tight seal is realised between the container 1 and the fuel outlet 30.

After the container 1 as described above has been connected to the fuel outlet 30 of the aircraft, a signal is given to the pilot of the aircraft to turn off the engine of the aircraft. When the aircraft engine is turned off, about half a litre of fuel is ejected from the aircraft via the fuel outlet 30. The fuel flows into the reservoir 10 via the coupling piece 12, as a result of which air is driven from the container through the vent tube 14 and the vent hole 15, so that no pressure build-up can take place in the reservoir 10. When no fuel flows out of the fuel outlet 30 anymore, the container 1 is disconnected from the fuel outlet 30 by turning back the union 22 a quarter turn, causing the rubber ring 20 to take up the position as shown in FIG. 1 again. The container 1 is detached from the fuel outlet 30 and the fuel can be moved to a storage location for fuel in the reservoir 10. As a rule, the container 1 will be turned 90°, so that the reservoir 10 is vertically oriented, with the reservoir 10 being positioned at the bottom side and the coupling piece 12 being positioned at the upper side, in which position the container 1 can be placed on a flat surface (not shown) with the flat underside 2 of the reservoir 10, if desired. In this situation, too, the vent hole 15 of the container 1 is present at the upper side of the reservoir 10. 

1. A container for receiving fuel from a fuel outlet of an aircraft, the container comprising: means of attachment for effecting a detachable, liquid-tight coupling with the fuel outlet, wherein the container extends at least partially perpendicularly to the direction of outflow of the fuel from the fuel outlet of the aircraft when the container is coupled to the fuel outlet of the aircraft.
 2. The container according to claim 1, wherein said means of attachment comprises a clamp coupling.
 3. The container according to claim 1, further comprising: an overflow outlet.
 4. The container according to claim 3, wherein the overflow outlet is positioned at an upper side of the container both when the container is coupled to the fuel outlet of the aircraft in a substantially horizontal orientation and when the container is not coupled to the fuel outlet and is in a substantially vertical orientation.
 5. The container according to claim 1, further comprising: indicating means that are visible when the container is coupled to the fuel outlet of the aircraft.
 6. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container is substantially made of an antistatic material.
 7. The container according to claim 6, wherein the container is substantially made of a plastic material.
 8. A method for receiving and discharging fuel from a fuel outlet of an aircraft, the method comprising the steps of: (a) coupling the container according to claim 1 to a fuel outlet of an aircraft before an engine of the aircraft is turned off; (b) draining fuel from the fuel outlet into the container; (c) disconnecting the container from the fuel outlet; and (d) transporting the fuel in the container to a storage location for discharged fuel.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the method further comprises the step of: (e) emptying the container.
 10. A container for receiving fuel from a fuel outlet of an aircraft, the container comprising: a reservoir; a clamp configured to engage a fuel outlet of an aircraft in a liquid-tight manner; and a coupling piece connecting the reservoir and the clamp, wherein the coupling piece comprises a fuel flowpath, wherein the fuel flowpath in the vicinity of the clamp is substantially vertical, and wherein the fuel flowpath in the vicinity of the reservoir is substantially non-vertical.
 11. The container according to claim 10, wherein the fuel flowpath in the vicinity of the reservoir is substantially horizontal when the container is coupled to the fuel outlet of the aircraft.
 12. The container according to claim 10, further comprising: an inlet, wherein the clamp comprises: a rotatable union; a pressure ring configured to move, by means of a rotation of the union, substantially vertically upward and/or downward, when the container is engaged with the fuel outlet of the aircraft; and a rubber ring in contact with the pressure ring, wherein the rubber ring is configured to expand around the inlet, when the pressure ring is moved substantially vertically upward by the union, and wherein the rubber ring is provided below the inlet when the pressure ring is moved substantially vertically downward by the union.
 13. The container according to claim 10, further comprising: an overflow outlet.
 14. The container according to claim 13, wherein the overflow outlet is positioned at an upper side of the container both when the container is coupled to the fuel outlet of the aircraft in a substantially horizontal orientation and when the container is not coupled to the fuel outlet and is in a substantially vertical orientation.
 15. The container according to claim 10, further comprising: an indicating means that is visible when the container is coupled to the fuel outlet of the aircraft.
 16. The container according to claim 15, wherein the indicating means is a ribbon.
 17. The container according to claim 10, wherein the container is substantially made of an antistatic material.
 18. The container according to claim 17, wherein the container is substantially made of a plastic material.
 19. A method for receiving and discharging fuel from a fuel outlet of an aircraft, the method comprising the steps of: (a) coupling a container to a fuel outlet of an aircraft before an engine of the aircraft is turned off; (b) draining fuel from the fuel outlet into the container initially in a substantially vertical direction and subsequently in a substantially non-vertical direction; and (c) disconnecting the container from the fuel outlet.
 20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the coupling of the container to the fuel outlet is substantially liquid-tight.
 21. The method according to claim 19, wherein the substantially non-vertical direction is a substantially horizontal direction.
 22. The method according to claim 19, further comprising the step of: (d) transporting the fuel in the container to a storage location for discharged fuel.
 23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising the step of: (e) providing visible confirmation that the container is coupled to the fuel outlet of the aircraft.
 24. The method according to claim 19, further comprising the step of: (d) providing visible confirmation that the container is coupled to the fuel outlet of the aircraft. 